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Historical temperaments: reply to Bill Alves

🔗Daniel Wolf <DJWOLF_MATERIAL@...>

7/11/1997 12:08:33 PM
Bill wrote:


A lack of chromaticism is not part of my argument - it is the lack of
tonalities
not well represented by a meantone tuning of 12 pitches.

The organ works include significant chromaticism, and the solo horn worksrequire frequent hand stopping (the tutti horn and trumpet parts are
another
matter altogether).


A look at the Sonatas will show you 3 in C Major, 3 in F Major, 2 in Bb
Major,
1 in Eb Major, 1 in G Major, 3 in D Major, 1 in A Major, 1 in a minor, and
the
Sonata and Fantasie in c minor, exactly the extent of the meantone keys. Most of the Sonatas feature chromaticism, the spelling consistant with meantone set to Eb to A. I personally find the chromaticism in the
Fantasien to
be especially vivid in meantone. My difficulty with claims for a
temperament
other that meantone for Mozart lies chiefly in the absence of music in
other keys. music

I agree that there were probably delays in introduction of 12tet outside of
major
cities (Ellis notes meantone pianos in Spain in 1880, for example). Since Mozart was the leading virtuoso of his time, the meantone key variety
should not have been the limitation it appears to be, unless the tuning was
really to be frequently encountered.

today.
piano

As I have posted already, the first claim from a manufacturer for generaluse of ET is Broadwood's in 1811 (BTW, Mozart favored Broadwood instruments), but reports from tuners themselves date from yet a later era. I grew up accepting what Ivor Darreg and Lou said about piano manufacturing

at face value, but have been surprised to learn how much handwork is
involved,
how late the steel frame (certainly not present in Mozart's Broadwood) was
introduced, etc.. Indeed, such an important maker as Steinway produces only
a
few thousand instruments a year, and the manufacturing process has changed
little over the last century. Only Asian firms appear to be manufacturingin a really
industrial manner.

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